Prosecutors: Paralyzed uncle took bus to deliver gun to girl who shot friend

The uncle of a 14-year-old girl charged as a juvenile for killing another 14-year-old girl isnow charged with first degree murder for providing the gun.

The uncle of a 14-year-old girl charged as a juvenile for killing another 14-year-old girl isnow charged with first degree murder for providing the gun.

Steve SchmadekeTribune reporter

An uncle who was paralyzed after being shot in 2010 took a bus to deliver a loaded revolver to his 14-year-old niece just before a fatal confrontation fueled by comments made on social media, Cook County prosecutors said Wednesday.

The uncle knew his niece planned to use the .38 Special to confront the onetime friend over a feud about a boy, prosecutors said. Endia Martin, 14, was fatally shot as she tried to run back inside her cousin’s home Monday afternoon in the Back of the Yards neighborhood.

Prosecutors revealed that a witness to the shooting had captured the entire incident on video with a cell phone and that the evidence was now in the hands of authorities.

The suspect’s uncle, Donnell Flora, 25, appeared in court Wednesday in a wheelchair, wiping his face with his hand as a judge told him he was being charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder. He was ordered held on $3 million bail after prosecutors said he knew the niece planned to take the gun to a fight.

He was the third individual to be charged in connection with the incident. A 17-year-old boy was arrested on weapons and other charges for allegedly trying to hide the gun after Endia was fatally shot in the back.

The Tribune is not naming that boy or the 14-year-old murder suspect because both were charged as juveniles.

In a brief interview Wednesday at her home, the girl’s mother said her daughter and Endia graduated from elementary school together last year and often communicated on Facebook.

“That's how (the shooting) started,” she said in an apparent reference to Facebook.

Authorities said the shooting happened after the girl and Endia argued over a boyfriend, a dispute that turned violent after both sides issued taunts on Facebook. A family member said the two planned to meet after school Monday in what turned into a violent confrontation between two groups of the girls’ friends.

On Monday afternoon, Flora took a bus to meet his niece after she had requested a gun to use in a fight, Assistant State’s Attorney Jaime Santini. said in court. He handed her the loaded handgun near the scene of the shooting, he said.

As Endia was leaving her cousin’s home with a group in the 900 block of West Garfield Boulevard, she was confronted by the 14-year-old girl and others with her, Santini said.

Flora’s niece pointed the gun at the aunt of a 16-year-old girl in Endia’s group who pushed the gun away, Santini said. The 16-year-old girl then swung a lock on a chain at the 14-year-old girl’s head but missed.

The younger girl then opened fire, striking the 16-year-old in the left bicep and fatally wounding Endia as she tried to run back into the home, Santini said. She also fired at others in Endia’s group who were running away, but no one else was shot, he said.

Prosecutors said Tuesday that the gun “malfunctioned” the first time the girl tried to shoot. She then handed the weapon to others in her group who unjammed the weapon. The girl than raised the gun again and began firing.

The 14-year-old girl was arrested near the scene and told police her uncle gave her the gun after she requested it for the fight, Santini said. Flora also admitted providing her with the weapon, he said.

The alleged shooter, who had never been arrested before, was on the honor roll at Hope College Prep High School, played on the freshman-sophomore basketball team and was a student leader, according to her lawyer.

But her social media accounts appeared to show a different side.

“Bout to beat some a--” the girl tweeted about two hours before the fatal confrontation. She also posted a photo on Facebook of herself sticking out her tongue and holding up her middle finger. The photo was captioned: “I Don't Chase Em ' I RePlace 'Em.”

Peering from the doorway of her home, the girl’s mom offered her condolences Wednesday to Endia’s family.